Josh Selby sits out Wizards workout with injured right quad

Jakob Engelke, The Baltimore Sun

After a season in which he saw playing time in just 26 of 38 games at Kansas, Baltimore native Josh Selby found himself sitting on the sidelines once again Monday during predraft workouts for the Washington Wizards.

Selby, who graduated from Lake Clifton and was named The Sun's 2010 Male Athlete of the Year, injured his right quad on Sunday during workouts with the Charlotte Bobcats and decided to take a day off to recover and receive treatment.

"It's frustrating," Selby said. "I wanted to work out for the Wizards just because it's so close to my home. I would like to come here, so it's frustrating. I'm only taking one day off and I'm back at it."

Coming out of high school -- before ever donning a Kansas uniform -- Selby was considered a possible NBA lottery pick. During his senior year at Lake Clifton, Selby averaged 32 points, seven assists and five rebounds. His impressive senior year earned him a spot in the McDonald's All-American game, in which he won the slam dunk contest, and made him a highly sought recruit -- Rivals.com ranked him the No. 1 overall prospect for the class of 2010, while ESPN had him at No. 5.

But a lot changed for Selby during his one-and-done year with the Jayhawks.

At Kansas, Selby dealt with a nagging foot injury and never lived up to his full potential, starting just 11 games and averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 530 minutes of action.

In addition to his struggles on the court, Selby also became the subject of controversy off it. After receiving "improper benefits" in violation of NCAA policies due to a relationship with Robert Frazier, who serves as Carmelo Anthony's business manager, Selby was suspended for the first nine games of the season and forced to donate the roughly $5,000 he received in benefits to a charity of his choice.

"[NBA executives] just want to see that the Josh at Kansas is not the Josh that they're going to see in the NBA," Selby said. "That's the only thing they're concerned with.

"I'm not looking back. I'm just looking forward. I don't regret going there at all. Things happen for a reason, so I'm just trying to be strong and show everybody that I'm still here."

Due in large part to his controversial season at Kansas, NBA draft experts now project the 6-foot-2 guard to be taken somewhere late in the first round or early in the second round.

"I think he's probably a late first-rounder," Aran Smith of NBADraft.net said. "He didn't quite live up to the hype when entering the year some people had him as a potential top-10 pick. With all the circumstances at Kansas -- his eligibility and the injury -- he missed a lot of time.

"The fact that he didn't have a great season, that impacts his stock. Things could have gone better for him, for sure, and that probably would have helped secure a top-20 spot for him."

Selby said he wouldn't mind hearing the Wizards call his name during the NBA Draft on June 23, citing the team's close proximity to Baltimore.

"D.C. is like my second home," said Selby, who spent his sophomore and junior seasons at nearby DeMatha High in Hyattsville. "The fans and the guys treat me just like Baltimore treated me -- like one of their own. I would love to come here just to put on for the city."

And even though Selby sat in a foldout chair and just observed during the workouts Monday, he still possesses the raw talent that made him the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school in 2010, according to Smith, who watched Selby train in Las Vegas. After official drills concluded Monday, Selby showed some of what he has to offer to whatever NBA team he ends up on by throwing up a few shots from beyond the arc.